


The Dawn is Breaking

by Highlander_II



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aged-Up Peter Parker, Anal Sex, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Blowjobs, Closure, F/M, First Time, Grief, M/M, Sex Tape, Spider-Man: Far From Home References, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 08:50:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21176690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highlander_II/pseuds/Highlander_II
Summary: Post-Endgame, Peter is really missing Tony and in need of closure. All he wants to do is say good-bye - properly. However, to pull it off, he needs help from Bucky and Steve so he can go back to 2012 while 2023!Tony is there.





	The Dawn is Breaking

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [lego art for The Dawn is Breaking](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178082) by [wyomingnot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyomingnot/pseuds/wyomingnot). 

> Inspired by a [prompt](https://thedevilchicken.dreamwidth.org/23900.html#MCU19-PeterTony) I found on [thedevilchicken](https://thedevilchicken.dreamwidth.org)'s DW that said: "Peter travels back to 2012 because he honestly just wants to see Tony one more time. It doesn't go quite to plan." Except, this goes pretty well for Peter – the getting there is a little more complicated than he'd intended, but once he's there, it's fine.

It happened again. The dream startled him awake. Maybe it was a nightmare. Whatever it was, it was back and trying to scare him. And it was always the same – Tony was right there, fighting with everyone else, then he was crawling out of Peter's bed, a desiccated corpse, disappointed look on his face like it was Peter's job to save him from the stones. That was the better version. Some were worse. Much worse.

Tonight was one of the worse ones.

In the dark, he made his way through the building to Tony's old room. He slipped inside and curled up on the bed to try to go back to sleep. It had worked the last couple nights. Something about being in this room helped him feel like there was still a piece of Tony here. And he needed that.

Since the Avengers had moved back into the old tower, he'd been visiting Tony's old room a lot. That first night though, he'd been nervous as hell. What if Pepper had decided to stay at the tower that night? It would have been hard to explain what he was doing. He'd gotten lucky. Twice. Hopefully his luck would hold out. None of them would understand if he had to explain this.

  


  


* * *

  


  


In the morning, he was still alone. In Tony's room. (It really did have an amazing bed.) And Tony was still gone. Peter wanted to sit and cry until the pain stopped, but he couldn't do that. Tony wouldn't want him to do that.

There was still work to do.

It was early enough that he could slip back to his room unnoticed. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he easily navigated around various hallway décor along the way.

"Peter?"

He lowered his hand and blinked remnants of sleep from his eyes. "Oh, hi, Captain Rogers," Peter said.

"Good morning," Rogers greeted with a smile. "You're up early. And, call me Steve," he added.

"Bad dream. I'm okay." Was he trying to reassure Steve of that or himself?

"Let's go get breakfast." Steve clapped Peter on the shoulder and steered him toward the stairs.

Peter wanted to get a shower and put on actual clothes and get back to work on his plan, but his stomach rumbled loudly, clearly having other ideas. He went with Steve to the kitchen where Mr. Barnes was putting out boxes of cereal on the counter.

"Buck, this is how you make breakfast?" Steve asked, obviously amused.

"I didn't want to show you up." Mr. Barnes put out bowls, spoons, fruit and milk. "Eat up."

Peter didn't really feel like eating, despite his stomach's insistence he was hungry, but poured himself a bowl of some chocolaty cereal and ate it. He tried to be mostly invisible to everyone else in the room. He didn't want anyone asking him questions. It worked out better than he'd expected. No one seemed to notice he was there at all, or when he slipped away.

Back in his room, he grabbed a shower and got dressed. Then he settled in with his laptop to pull up the files he'd been reading over the last couple days. He knew Steve was going to take the Infinity Stones back to their specific points in the timeline. And that he was going tomorrow. What Peter was still working on was how to follow him.

Peter had tried straight up volunteering to help. He'd been told 'no' by all of the Avengers present. In unison. So he'd have to find another way to see Tony again.

He didn't need to see him for long. He just wanted a chance to say a proper good-bye. Though, he'd have to do it without letting Tony know what was going on or what would happen. Theory was that it would screw up the timeline. At least, that's what every movie and TV show about time travel he'd seen had led him to believe.

"Oh, wow! That's so cool," Peter remarked to himself. Further into the report, he discovered they'd used something called Pym Particles for the time traveling. Something about shrinking and going through the quantum realm. He added that to his mental checklist. Also on the list was to find out where the time travel thing would happen. He'd probably have to follow someone to learn that.

He'd also need to know how much of the Pym Particles he'd need for the trip. He kept reading. There wasn't much detail on the actual time travel part. Not in the parts of the database he had access to. He couldn't even find much on the Pym stuff – other than it was developed by Hank Pym a long time ago and there was a 'mishap'.

Obviously they were safe now, right? If the Avengers were using them to jump around in time, the particles couldn't be bad. More mental notes.

He wasn't making physical notes. Not for this. Too many ways for others to find out what he was trying to do. The fewer people who knew, the better.

  


* * *

  


"I don't know, Peter. The last time we did this…" Ned began.

Peter stopped him. "Dude, I've learned tons about my suit since then. Really fast too. It's awesome. But this isn't the same thing."

Ned frowned. "We're hacking into the Avengers' database – it's actually worse."

Peter flopped on his back on the bed beside Ned. "Look, this is the only way to find the information I need. I need your help."

"I really don't think you should do this, Peter. It sounds dangerous. What if it doesn't work and you get stuck?"

Peter sighed. "I won't if you can get the information out of there," he pointed to the laptop, "for me. I need to know how they did it so I can help Captain America."

Ned tapped a few keys. "Wait, if you're helping Captain America, why do you need me to figure this out?"

Peter sat up. "Man, just help me, okay?"

For several moments, Ned didn't say anything. Then, with a sigh, he said, "Okay. I'll see what I can find. But I'm not even sure I can get in."

"But you'll try?" Peter asked, clearly more excited. Ned nodded. "Great! Let me know when you find something. I gotta go." He grabbed his backpack from the floor and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks, Ned."

"Yeah. Tell May I said 'hi'."

"Sure." Then Peter ducked out of Ned's room. Through the door, instead of the window. It was harder to sneak out when Ned's mom knew he was there.

  


* * *

  


He would have rather gone back to the Tower, but Aunt May wanted him to spend the weekend with her. He couldn't say 'no' to Aunt May. Not without feeling like a complete asshole. And not since he'd spent every night since he'd gotten back at the Tower.

In Tony's room.

Having nightmares.

Trying – and failing – not to cry.

Besides, once he pulled this off, he could get back to normal. Or something like normal. And he'd be back home with Aunt May all the time.

Right now, he'd have dinner with his aunt, play some video games, then try to get some sleep. All while hoping Ned could get him what he needed.

"You doing okay, honey?" May asked him and he gave a mostly affirmative grunt in response.

Truthfully, he wasn't okay. And he wouldn't be until he got a chance to see Tony. He needed this.

May didn't ask him too many other questions during dinner. But she did ask him to watch a movie with her for a bit. He was sure he'd be too antsy to sit still, but he made it through the whole movie.

When it was over, he kissed May goodnight and went to his room. He had a text from Ned.

"Hey, Ned, what'd you find out?" he asked when Ned picked up.

"A lot, really. Man, Peter, I think this is a lot more dangerous than you thought."

"Come on, Ned."

"You have to have a sort of temporal GPS thingy to navigate the quantum realm. And you need to know where – or when – you're going. Um, and you have to wear this special Ant Man suit."

"Where am I going to get the Ant Man suit?"

Ned was quiet on the other end. When he finally spoke again, he said, "Peter, I _really_ think you should reconsider this. There's no way to do it all before tomorrow."

"I have to do this. It's fine if you don't want to help after this. Did you find anything else? I need to know."

"Just that you need two sets of the Pym Particles – one to go and one to get back."

"Thanks, Ned. I'm going over there tonight. I don't know what time Captain America's mission is and I need to be ready to go." He paused for a glance to the door. He didn't want to lie to Aunt May, but he needed to do this. "Ned, was there anything that told you where I can find any of this stuff?"

"Uh-" then Peter heard keys clicking. "Not at the tower, just at the old compound, which isn't much help. So, if you're going to the tower, try the science lab."

  


* * *

  


Science lab. The science lab. The damned Tower had like five. Which science lab? He skipped botany and a couple others that didn't sound like the right place and tried the door to the chem lab. Locked.

Peter frowned at the fingerprint reader. He tried his thumb and the scanner responded with an unpleasant buzz and a red indicator of failure. He hadn't expected that to work anyway.

But now what? He'd never convince anyone to open the door for him. Hell, they'd probably drive him home.

He couldn't break in – the ballistic style Stark Industries glass was a pretty big deterrent. Sure, he probably _could_ get through it eventually, but not before someone caught him.

Then, he heard footsteps in the corridor. He looked around for somewhere to hide. There were no good spots. There weren't even some mildly terrible ones. So, he webbed himself up to the ceiling to wait.

Maybe it was just a guard or something and they'd keep walking. Peter tried to be as still as possible. He even held his breath as the steps grew closer.

_Oh damn,_ he thought once he recognized who was coming down the hall. _I'm caught. It's over. Total fail._

Peter watched as Mr. Barnes closed the distance until he was standing directly beneath Peter. That metal arm was still awesome. Mr. Barnes waited, then turned in a slow, steady circle.

"Parker, come on out. I saw you when you entered the Tower."

No way! He'd been super careful. He'd made sure to use the blind spot he knew about. And he'd stayed away from all the cameras. Hadn't he?

Mr. Barnes didn't seem impatient, just bored. "C'mon, kid. Stark patched the blind spots after the first time."

_Dammit._

Peter dropped almost noiselessly to the floor in front of Mr. Barnes. "Who else knows I'm here?" How bad had he been at stealth?

Mr. Barnes shook his head. "No one. Just me."

"You're going to tell them though, aren't you?" He wanted to point out, to everyone, that he wasn't a child. That they didn't need to treat him like one and coddle him.

"Nope." That gave Peter pause. "As long as you tell me what you're doing here?"

He'd been working on this cover story for half the night. "I wanted to help Capt – Steve take back the Infinity Stones. You know, help out."

Mr. Barnes looked dubious. "Weren't you already told 'no'?"

Peter wrinkled his nose, irritated. "Repeatedly," he said, rolling his eyes.

"And you don't think that's for a reason?"

"I think it's so I never get any experience doing anything."

"Why are you really here?"

Peter sighed. His voice was soft and cracked when he spoke, "I watched him die."

Mr. Barnes seemed uncertain for several moments. "Stark? You can't bring him back."

Peter's head snapped up. "I know that, Mr. Barnes." Though he would do it if it was an option. "I just – my parents were killed in a plane crash when I was really little. My uncle was killed by a burglar. And now -" his throat choked up and he couldn't finish.

Usually pretty stoic, Peter saw Mr. Barnes soften a little. Just a little.

"Look, kid, whatever you're planning is a terrible idea." He held up a hand to silence Peter. "But, I figure you're stubborn enough to try to do it anyway, so, I should probably help."

Peter was sure he was going to have to physically retrieve his jaw from the floor. "You – you're going to – but why?" No, wait, he'd said why. "Nevermind. Um, so - "

"What was your plan?"

"Um, follow Steve."

Mr. Barnes frowned. "All over time?"

"Well, no. I was just going to jump in with him and go where I needed to go. But I need some stuff. That GPS thing and the Pym Particles." He brushed a hand over his hair. "Oh – and that special suit thing."

"You're shit outta luck, kid."

"But you said you were gonna help me!" Peter protested.

Mr. Barnes glared at him. "Right. But I can't make things appear out of thin air."

"What? Which things?" Peter's hands began to sweat. He'd been so close. He was right there. And now it might not happen.

"We can get the particles easy. But the GPS 'thing' and the suit, those are harder. I know we have them because Steve needs them to put everything back." Mr. Barnes paused a second. "Stark made them. And I doubt he left the plans just laying around."

"But you guys had like six of them!"

"Not me. I was dust like you."

Oh right. He'd forgotten that part. So weird. He'd remembered clinging to Tony and sort of fading away. Then what felt like waking up, but being really disoriented. And everyone was back, but Tony and that blue lady were gone. But that hug he got when he finally saw Tony again – he'd liked that. That was nice. He knew he'd been missed. It felt really good to be missed. Then there was fighting – lots of it.

But that's over. And he needed to see Tony again.

"You don't know what happened to the rest of them?" Peter asked, maybe more hopeful than he really felt.

"No. But I know where we can start looking."

Peter was liking this plan again.

  


* * *

  


"Mr. Barnes, we've been searching for hours…" Peter whined.

"Forty minutes. And I'm going to need you to start calling me Bucky. Every time you say 'Mr. Barnes' I feel like I'm on trial."

"Oh. Okay then. Bucky - " using first names with the Avengers was pretty cool, " - where next?" They'd stumbled across the Pym Particles in the first lab they'd checked looking for the GPS thing, but they still had to get the rest.

Peter watched Bucky thinking. When nothing was forthcoming, he started to get nervous.

Then Peter asked, "Where are they keeping the one Steve's going to use?"

Bucky made a contemplative face. Then a wicked grin bent one corner of his mouth. The look was kind of terrifying, but Peter hoped it meant good news. "Come on."

Tentatively, Peter followed. That creepy grin sort of reminded Peter that Bucky had been a bad guy once. Should he be worried now? Was Bucky bad again?

"Wh- where are we going?" Peter asked, feet scrambling a little to keep up with Bucky's longer strides.

"I think I know where the time GPS things are." Bucky slowed to a walk and rounded a corner. He approached a lab Peter hadn't seen before – and he thought he'd explored every accessible inch of the Tower. The floors he was allowed on, anyway.

"Should we be in here?" Peter asked, glancing warily around the corridor.

"No, but if you want this plan of yours to work, this is where we have to be."

Peter followed, looking over his shoulder the whole time. This was nerve-wracking. Someone could show up and catch them sneaking around at any time.

"Will you calm down?" Bucky chastised. "You're making _me_ nervous and that's not a good idea."

Peter stopped walking. Stopping looking. And for second, stopped breathing. "Uh – sorry, Bucky. I – sorry." It was sometimes easy to forget that Bucky used to be the Winter Soldier and pretty dangerous.

"Come on." Bucky waved for Peter to follow again. "It's over here."

"Oh. Cool." He caught up to Bucky and stayed close as they crossed the lab.

As Bucky entered the code to open the cabinet, Peter felt something. Someone else was in the room. They'd been caught. They'd failed. He didn't look. He didn't want to know who had ruined his plan.

"Buck," Steve began, "What are you doing in here?"

Peter wanted to melt into the floor. At least then the embarrassment would be hidden from his heroes. He knew this bit had been too easy.

"Just getting one of these." Bucky held up the device they'd been after.

What was Bucky doing? Why was he giving away the whole plan? That wasn't going to help him.

Steve frowned at Bucky. "You're not going with me."

"No, he is." Bucky pointed right at Peter.

This would be where Peter would usually babble and stumble trying to explain how Bucky was wrong and that wasn't what he was doing at all. But, this time, he kept quiet. He didn't think it would do much to help him, but it would certainly keep this from getting worse.

"No, Buck. He's not," Steve said firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"To go back in time and say good-bye to someone who can't come back?" Peter snapped and felt tears sting his eyes again. He shouldn't have said anything, but the words just jumped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"What?"

Bucky pulled Steve aside and spoke to him quietly. Peter couldn't hear what they were saying – well, he could, but he wasn't listening. He could see Steve's facial expression shifting as Bucky explained the situation. Was this going to go well for him?

Peter saw Steve sigh, then the two friends made their way back to where Peter was waiting. Peter tried not to look expectant or hopeful. Facing disappointment again would crush him. He'd gotten this far already and was sure he was done. Any amount of hope wasn't going to help.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I understand what you want to do, but it's just too dangerous," Steve explained and he sounded genuinely sorry that he couldn't approve Peter coming along.

"But it wasn't when Tony flew me to Berlin? And it wasn't when I took on the Vulture? And it wasn't when I helped against Thanos?" He knew all of those had been dangerous. Tony had told him as much. And had even tried to talk him out of most of it. "I'm part of the Avengers. Tony made me one. And he's gone. And I was gone for five years. Then I came back in the middle of a huge battle only to watch him die. Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you. Maybe it doesn't seem worth the risk to you. But it does to me. And I need this closure." He took a deep breath. "You all got your friends and family back. I lost a part of mine. Again."

"Steve -" Bucky prompted.

"I know you want to do this, Peter," Steve said, put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "But I can't authorize it. It's dangerous enough for me to take the stones back."

Peter shrugged and pulled away from Steve's hand. "Fine. I need a ride home." He'd almost asked 'Who died and put you in charge?', but it felt overly insensitive and since the answer was, essentially, Tony, it just made him hurt more.

What he really wanted was to run away and hide from the world. This was supposed to have been a simple plan – or one he could execute, at least. So far, everything had gone wrong.

"I said I couldn't authorize it. I didn't say you couldn't go anyway."

Peter was hearing Steve's voice. He was sure of it. He was sure he'd just heard Captain America tell him he could go on his mission – unofficially.

"Really?" Peter asked without thinking.

"I'm leaving you with Bucky. If he decides you have to abort, listen to him. But we never had this conversation." Then Steve walked away.

Peter turned to Bucky. "What made him change his mind?"

Bucky grinned. "He was young once too."

Peter frowned. "What does that mean?"

"He knows you're going to do it anyway. This way, he has plausible deniability and maybe you won't kill yourself."

"He has you helping so I don't have to break into anything."

Bucky laughed. "No. I'm helping so he knows what happened. And to keep you on track. Look, Peter, this is still going to be dangerous. A lot of things can go wrong. I'm here to make sure you're as prepared as you can be before you go."

"Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. Thanks."

  


* * *

  


They had the Pym Particles. They had the time-GPS thing. They knew when Steve was making the jump. Bucky had even found one of the special Ant Man suits for Peter to wear.

Bucky had then sat Peter down with a video recording of Tony explaining the science behind all of this so Peter would understand. Bucky had also told Peter not to ask him any questions, because he had no idea how the science part worked. That was okay. Peter was good with science. Though some of the quantum realm stuff was a little over his head. He understood enough to follow the plan.

All of the other Avengers had done this – and they didn't know what they'd been doing either. Peter could handle this if they could.

When he finished the video, Bucky asked if he was ready to go. He was. He was also sure the video was an attempt to dissuade him. It didn't work. In fact, it had made his decision to keep going easier. He already knew this worked. Now it was his turn.

  


* * *

  


Peter was doing great right until he was in the woods and twenty feet from the location of the time machine. (Is that really what they were calling it?) He'd put on the suit, set his GPS, got his Pym Particles secured and had Bucky drop him off. And he was fine. Now, he was close enough to see Steve gearing up and the butterflies began dancing in his gut.

There were so many ways for this to go wrong. Steve had made sure Bucky had explained that to him. Peter had countered with the ways it could go right. He needed it to go right.

He leaned against a tree and took several deep breaths to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure if it was working though. A glance at his hand to double check the coordinates for his jump, then he glanced to the clearing. Steve gave him a covert thumb's up. That made him feel a lot better.

This was going to work.

Peter heard his cue from Steve and closed on the clearing at a dead sprint. He leapt into the machine with Steve as it was activated. He vaguely heard someone yelling at him, but it was too late for him to go back now. He was in.

  


* * *

  


He didn't remember much of his trip through the quantum realm – it was over so quickly. Being expelled and resized on the other side was jarring though.

Peter rushed to open his helmet, then vomited behind a dumpster. That was gross. And now he needed a toothbrush.

He'd bought a toothbrush to use to clean his mouth, then grabbed a bottle of water before he stepped back onto the street. It was 2012 in New York City. He'd have to stay away from his own neighborhood – he wasn't even Spider-Man yet in this time. Also, he was eleven.

He knew Tony would be at Stark Tower soon. Apparently there would be two of Tony there. Peter would have to figure out which Tony was the right one. He'd also have to look out for doubles of the other Avengers too.

This might get confusing.

He'd been told that there had been a slight SNAFU during the original heist. Apparently they'd had an encounter in the lobby and lost the tesseract. So Peter needed to catch Tony right after that, because Tony and Steve would be traveling to 1970 to fix it. Peter didn't have enough Pym Particles to follow them. Not if he still wanted to get back home.

Could he even go to 1970 if he wasn't alive then? He didn't know all the details of the time travel stuff. The science for the GPS thing and some of the quantum realm, sure, but not the actual time travel rules. He'd only had time for some of the stuff.

None of that mattered right now. His current assignment was to get to Stark Tower. He got his bearings, then ducked into an alley. The fastest way was to swing between buildings. But Spider-Man didn't exist yet. He couldn't be seen like that.

The streets were a disaster from the Battle of New York (which probably hadn't been called that yet). So that would be a problem – and a teen wandering around in the rubble would look like a troublemaker. Even an older teen. He was running low on good options.

With a sigh and a groan, he fired a web to the top of the building he was next to and swung himself up. Hopefully no one saw. He had dressed in fairly stealth clothing that he'd found at the Tower back home, so he was probably okay if he didn't draw attention to himself.

He leapt across rooftops, heading in the direction of Stark Tower. Pausing from time-to-time to take a look around. The Chitauri had done some serious damage – to everything.

This was the first time he was seeing the destruction in person. He'd seen news footage at the time, but his aunt and uncle had made sure to keep him away from the majority of the mess. That was probably good, since he might have gotten himself into trouble.

Peter stepped back from the roof ledge when he noticed movement on the street below. He didn't think anyone had seen him, but he wasn't taking chances. He moved to the next building once they were out of sight. Only a few more blocks to go to the Tower.

He surveilled the alley below him before he swung down, landing in a soft crouch on a pile of rubble. No one seemed to have noticed. Nice.

He crept carefully toward the mouth of the alley and checked his watch. Assuming it was keeping time correctly, Tony should be waiting in the lobby to collect the tesseract.

A million thoughts went through his head. He was so close. Tony was less than a block away. Peter could feel his palms sweating and butterflies dancing in his belly again. This was real. This was - 

"Excuse me, sir. You can't be here," a voice boomed from his right.

_Shit._

"Oh, sorry. I dropped something and thought I could try to get it back." It wasn't a great lie, but maybe it would work.

"Can I see some ID?" the police officer asked.

Peter patted around his clothes. "Um – I left my wallet -" He couldn't show his 2023 ID – it wouldn't make any sense. It didn't even expire until 2026.

"I'm going to need you to come with me, sir."

"Why? You need a charge to arrest me."

"You're trespassing," the officer stated.

Peter frowned and tipped his head, examining the officer. "Only if I'm not supposed to be here. And I'm not loitering because I'm leaving." Those conversations with the Avengers' lawyer were suddenly very useful. (What? He liked learning and had asked the difference once day.)

The cop seemed temporarily stymied, but was trying not to show it.

"Can I go?" Peter asked and the officer waved for him to leave. He even tossed out a 'stay out of trouble – I'm watching you' to round out the cliché as he watched Peter go.

Peter tried not to roll his eyes. He jogged across the street through the rubble. The Tower was right there. But, he didn't know where Tony would be leaving. He'd go in, but there were guards at the entrance. And it looked like someone important just walked in.

_Damn._

Wait! Tony wouldn't leave the way the important guy went in. Peter checked around him, then jogged around the building. There were a couple other entrances – maybe he could find the right one without missing Tony!

As he passed the front of the Tower, he could see a commotion. A group huddling around something. Then he saw Loki disappear. _Oh – oh man!_ He hadn't known about that part.

He ran faster around the side of the building and saw Tony leave with Ant Man. _Dammit_. Then Ant Man took off in a different direction from Tony. _Yes!_ Running a little faster, he caught up to Tony. Then called out to him.

Confused, Tony stopped walking and turned around, looking for the sound. "Hello?"

Peter stepped up beside him. "H-hello, Mr. Stark." His voice trembled and he almost broke down in tears just seeing Tony's face.

Tony frowned deeply. "What the hell? Peter, what are you doing here?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," Tony said, in a voice that meant, 'this had better be good'. Then he changed his mind: "No, wait. I don't have time. I need to find Cap."

Peter stared at him. "I – I just need two minutes. Please, Tony."

That caught Tony's attention. "Did you just – two minutes? For what?"

"I can't tell you." Which probably wasn't helping to explain anything to Tony at all. "But, please? Two minutes."

Tony didn't say anything for a second, then, "Okay, but answer me one thing – who the hell are you?"

Peter blinked at Tony. Rapidly. Several times. "It's me. Peter Parker." He leaned in closer. "Spider-Man."

"You're eleven."

"In 2012, yeah. But not – not where I'm from." He'd almost given the year, but wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"Okay. Yeah. But when I left, you – well, let's just say you weren't available."

Peter nodded. "Right. I know that. I'm from somewhere a little different than you. But, yes, I'm not available for this mission at the time you left."

Tony frowned again. "Wait, it works?"

"Um – I – I can't tell you that. And you know that even if I knew, I couldn't tell you." He wanted to though. He wanted to tell Tony everything.

He wanted more than that. He wanted to save Tony, but he didn't know how to do that. How did you save someone who was going to die doing something to save the world without screwing up the world-saving part?

"You're making it very hard for me to buy-in to your story," Tony said. Then he blinked and looked past Peter to the nearby wall, his focus shifted. A second later he said, "Yeah, Cap, be there in a minute. Taking care of something."

Peter scrambled to come up with something to say to keep Tony's attention. His brain buzzed over several dozen things that might catch Tony's attention and somehow landed on, "I love you."

He saw the look that flashed over Tony's face and was immediately mortified. That was absolutely the wrong thing to say. And definitely not what he'd _meant_ to say.

_Dammit._

"Kid, I don't know what's going on here but -"

"Pepper, I know," Peter interrupted. He had to fix this. "I didn't – not like that." Though, maybe. He wasn't really sure. He wasn't as emotionally stable as he probably should've been to do this. But he couldn't wait. "I mean – dammit Tony – I miss you." And he could feel all the emotion welling up. The fear. The nightmares. All of it. He'd already lost Tony twice between the snap and the second snap. That was two times too many.

And he'd been scared both times. It was terrifying to know you were just disappearing from existence and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. The second one had been during a huge battle of super people. And Tony saved them – the good guys – but at a huge cost. Peter had been right there; had watched it happen; had seen Tony collapse. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but he had known what was happening. Then Tony was gone again.

For Peter, those two events weren't that far apart. It was like he'd gone to sleep one day and woken up the next, only it was five years later and he had no sense of the time passing.

He couldn't leave without saying good-bye. Not this time.

"This isn't the best place for this conversation. Come on." Tony pressed Peter's shoulder to steer him headed in the direction he wanted.

"Okay. Where are we going?" Peter's skin tingled where Tony touched him. Was he really that starved for any form of contact from his mentor?

"Somewhere less public. But, assuming I believe you, what am I supposed to do with you until you go back?"

Peter shrugged. "Based on what I was told about how this works, we kind of have plenty of time here, because it's only a few seconds back where we came from."

"More or less true. Okay. I'm still confused about you, but I'm willing to roll with it, so, what is it you want?"

This was the part that made Peter nervous. Mostly because he wasn't really sure what he wanted other than to spend time with Tony. Would that make him sound like a child? Even though he wasn't. Technically. He'd turned eighteen the day after he was brought back. Worst birthday ever, really. He hadn't celebrated at all. He hadn't told any of the Avengers either. He hadn't wanted them trying to cheer him up more than they'd already been. And he'd told his aunt that he wasn't up for it. She seemed to understand.

"Um – well, this trip was pretty rushed, so I kind of didn't plan that part out. Can we just go somewhere and talk? Somewhere away from people?" he asked. He was sure Tony would know of someplace that would work.

"Maybe," Tony answered. That was good. It wasn't a 'no', so it was good. Maybe had hope in it. Peter needed a little of that.

He followed along with Tony to meet with Captain America and Ant Man. He let Tony do all of the explaining this time. Tony was much better at cover stories.

  


* * *

  


Tony opened the door at one end of what appeared to be an abandoned hallway. On the inside though was a lovely room decorated in a luxurious but minimalist style. A plush couch, a comfy chair, a coffee table, a couple lamps, a bookshelf, a computer terminal, and a radio. Several of the books had fallen from the shelf, but the place, otherwise, appeared intact.

"Wow. This is pretty cool. Who else knows about this place?" Peter asked as he turned around, checking out the room.

"Just Happy. I don't spend time here really. It's more of a safe house."

"Cool." Peter really liked the idea of a secret kept just between he and Tony. And Happy.

Tony was at the computer terminal tapping on the keyboard. For the moment, Peter kept his distance. Maybe it was something super secret. And he didn't want to be in the way or have Tony yell at him.

"Have a seat," Tony invited. Finished at the terminal, Tony joined Peter on the couch.

"So, uh, what were you doing?"

"Verifying who you are," Tony said. Peter frowned and Tony explained, "I have ways. Lots of precautions needed. The one… two kidnappings were enough."

Peter frowned again. "Do I look like I would want to kidnap you?"

Tony gave him a flat look. "Under the right circumstances, sure."

"Fair. But I'm not planning to kidnap you. Just so we're clear."

"Right. Good. So, you wanted to talk."

"Yes. Right. I did. Um – I don't know what I want to talk about though. A lot of the stuff I would, I can't."

Sitting there, staring at Tony, he wanted to hug him. Beyond that, he really wanted to kiss him. To taste his mouth and feel his muscles beneath his hands. He'd told Tony that the 'I love you' hadn't meant what Tony had thought it meant. That was a lie. He'd absolutely meant exactly what Tony'd thought. Only, he couldn't tell him that.

Probably.

Right now, Tony was just looking at him. Waiting for him to get his shit together and not waste Tony's time.

"I'm sorry. I - " He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, "it's okay. This is a lot. It's a little strange for me too, because, well, like I said, you're not available."

Peter nodded. "The snap thing. I know."

"You can tell me that - "

"I know where you're from. Look, I don't want to talk about that. I want to enjoy whatever time you can give me." _Because when I go back you'll be gone._

Tony nodded. "Sure. So, what it is you want to do?"

Biting the bullet, Peter leaned in, hands on either side of Tony's face, and kissed him. He pressed his lips to Tony's, warm and firm. Not as scared as he felt, which was nice.

Tony was stiff and unresponsive at first. Then he pulled away, tongue peeking out to taste his own lip. "Um, Pete, look…" but he stopped and shifted on the couch. He seemed uncomfortable, but maybe not about the kiss so much as about something else. "I – fuck – I don't even know how to say this..."

Peter sighed and shifted away by about a half inch. It was all he was willing to do. Enough of a gesture to signal he knew what was going on. "It's okay," he said to the floor, fingers twisting themselves together between his knees. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave without ever doing that."

He wanted to do it again. Hell, he wanted to do more than that now that he'd thought about it a little. His dreams (not the nightmares, before those) had been filled with images of he and Tony, naked, touching each other and kissing, Maybe more. His alarm liked to go off when he was getting to the better parts.

"Peter, it's fine." Tony's hand reached to rest on Peter's shoulder. "What else do you want to do?"

Lifting his head, Peter gaped at Tony. Asked to leave, told he was an idiot, told he was wrong – all of those had been expected responses. Not a request for more. He couldn't get his mouth to close. Tony used a gentle hand to do it for him.

Tony's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "This - " he waved a hand " - no one needs to know."

"I'm not your dirty little secret, Tony." Peter was offended at even the implication.

"Of course not. But no one in 2012 can know. Who you tell back home, well, that's up to you. Just don't tell Pepper."

"Uh – are you cheating on her? Because I'm – I'm not really okay with that if you are."

Tony shook his head. "Private stuff. Long story. She's fine."

That didn't really answer his question, but the specifics of Tony's marital arrangements weren't his business. "As long as this won't get you in trouble with her, I'm okay."

"We're solid." Tony reached across to pull Peter closer, then kissed him.

Tony's mouth was warm and firm, but not stiff this time. Peter wanted to push him down on the couch. But he curbed that impulse for the moment. When Tony's other hand slid around his back, Peter felt tears prick his eyes. He didn't know if this meant anything to Tony at all, but for now, it was enough that Tony was indulging him.

He gripped the jacket Tony was wearing. It was the most un-Tony piece of clothing, but he figured that was the idea. He was stronger than Tony, but was trying not to exert too much force in his enthusiasm.

Instead, he just wanted to sit and kiss Tony. He did shuffle himself over so he could kneel over Tony's lap. It made it easier to reach his mouth.

Slowly, he let his tongue slide across Tony's lips. The man made a sound deep in his chest. So Peter did it again. Anything to hear Tony make a noise like that.

When Tony moaned a second time, Peter felt his cock twitch. His own, not Tony's. He wasn't sitting where he could feel that. But he might change that soon.

"I miss you," he whispered against Tony's mouth. He curled his fingers into Tony's hair, holding him tight against his mouth.

Tony gripped his hair back and it was Peter's turn to moan. He moaned again when Tony bit his lip. Peter's hips rocked forward and Tony chuckled softly as he pulled back.

"How far are you planning to take this, kid?" Tony asked.

"I don't know," Peter panted. "I – well – I haven't really done this before." Thought about it, sure, but not done it.

"What have you done?" Tony asked him, genuinely interested, and it was the hottest question Peter had ever heard.

"Um – well – kissing and some touching. Not really more, you know?" He shrugged. He hadn't had much chance to get beyond that since he'd ended up snapped away.

Tony nodded. "Okay. So, what do you want to do?"

Peter changed his mind. _That_ was the hottest question. His chest seized for a moment. He wasn't sure he was actually awake and in 2012 talking to Tony. _His_ Tony.

"Everything," he stammered.

That made Tony laugh. "I don't think we have enough time for that. But I'll give you what I can. JARVIS, cut the video."

"Of course, sir."

"No," Peter countered. "Keep it running. So I can have it." Peter knew it was an odd request, but he wanted a way to keep seeing Tony once he went back. "Lock it so only I can see it." He knew Tony had the tech for that.

"One condition," Tony added. "If I do this – record this for you – you put it in a drawer and don't watch it until you're twenty-five."

"What? Why?"

He watched Tony resist the urge to say something before he settled on, "Because I want you to focus on school and your life and not center your life on me."

Peter pressed his lips together. Then he nodded solemnly. "Okay. Deal." He listened while Tony instructed the AI to record on a private server under a code while he leaned in to press open-mouthed kisses to Tony's throat. He exhaled against Tony's skin and whispered, "I want to touch you. Feel you."

Tony's whole body shuddered beneath him and he knew Tony wanted it too. Tony kissed him, long and slow. Then reached to start removing clothes. Peter slid off his lap long enough to strip. If he took a few seconds to admire Tony doing the same, can you blame him? He extended his arms, letting his hands settle on Tony's chest. There was a scar where the old arc reactor used to be, and several smaller scars from any of a dozen encounters with any number of foes. Peter touched them all.

Tony covered Peter's hands with his own as Peter explored. Tony's eyes fell closed and his head tipped back when Peter found particularly sensitive spots, like the abrasion scar on the side of his rib cage that felt like it might have been road rash. Soft moans rolled from Tony's chest as he tugged Peter with him back to the couch. "Where do you want to start?" Tony asked softly, pressing kisses along Peter's jawline.

Peter dipped his head to press his mouth to Tony's. When he drew back, he whispered, "I want to be inside you."

"I can work with that," Tony said with a grin and let Peter kiss him again.

It took a little coordination and shifting, but they found a position that would work for them. Tony pressed a bottle of lubricant into Peter's chest. "I don't have condoms here," he said. "If you give me something, I will jump around in time and annoy the shit out of you forever."

Peter giggled. He knew Tony was serious – and that he could do it – it was just the most absurd threat. "Sorry," he said about the giggles. "I don't have anything." He shook his head. "Haven't ever been with anyone else, remember?" He took the lube and settled between Tony's splayed legs.

Tony nudged him with a knee. "Put it on your cock, then slide it in – slowly."

Peter looked up at Tony's face, then back down at his hands. At Tony's cock. At Tony's body. He took a slow, deep breath and followed Tony's instructions. He was torn about what to watch – his cock sliding into Tony's ass, or Tony's face as it twisted in pleasure while he did. Finally opting to watch Tony, he studied the man's face more closely. He looked relaxed. And happy. It made Peter smile a little.

Then Tony did something that made Peter's eyes roll back in his head.

"Shit," Peter breathed and clamped a hand on the back of the couch.

Tony was grinning. "Move for me. Make it good."

"Yeah, no pressure or anything." This was nerve-wracking, but in the very best way. He was not only having sex for the first time, he was doing it with the one person he never thought he'd be able to. And he was getting good instructions for how to do it too.

"Gotta learn sometime." Tony wiggled his hips.

Peter's fingers gripped harder at the back of the couch. He drew his hips back, then pressed them forward again, slowly. The most erotic and filthy moan rumbled from Tony's chest. Peter could tell it wasn't just for his benefit. It made one corner of his mouth quirk up in a satisfied grin. He'd made Tony Stark moan.

So he aimed to do it again. Out and back in. Smooth, rolling movements of his hips. If the sounds Tony was making were any indication, Peter was doing just fine. He panted a curse between them. At this rate, he wasn't going to last very much longer. Tony's body was hot and tight, add in those gorgeous noises and Peter was near sensory overload.

"Tony," he breathed.

Tony gripped his forearm. "It's okay. Don't stop. It's okay."

He wanted to watch Tony come while he fucked him, but he wasn't going to last long enough for that to happen. Instead, he tried to make it good for Tony. Tried to make sure those sounds he liked so much kept coming. Until he felt his own muscles tighten and he let out a low groan as his orgasm washed over him.

He almost wanted to cry. He'd now felt what it was like to fuck the man he'd had a crush on for better than a year. And it was amazing. Especially with Tony's arms folded across his back. He felt warm and safe. He didn't want to be anywhere else.

Tony only let him rest for a little while though. He ducked out of the room for a second to get a wet cloth and clean Peter up, then spent a few minutes kissing him before he knelt on the floor to suck him off. Peter was sure his eyes were going to roll back in his head before he came.

Peter opened his eyes to Tony half-hovering over him, a stupid grin on his face. "I hope I didn't pass out. That would be really embarrassing," Peter said, clapping his hands over his face.

"No," Tony said. "Doesn't mean I didn't try though."

"I hate you," he sighed and Tony just grinned at him.

When Tony fucked him there on the couch, it was gentle and easy. Even when Peter told him he could go harder or faster. Tony told him to stop talking and just feel. Which he did. He felt Tony's cock sliding in and out of him. He felt Tony's skin, slick with sweat beneath his palms. He felt Tony's mouth on his when he leaned in for a kiss.

Peter wrapped his legs around Tony's waist and pushed his fingers into Tony's hair. "This is so amazing," he breathed against Tony's neck. He relished every sensation he could catalog. He needed to remember all of this.

They laid, tangled, on the couch, for a long time once they were done. Tony's head rested on Peter's shoulder. Peter brushed his fingers through Tony's hair. He smiled when he felt Tony relax, certain the man didn't do it very often.

"I love you, Tony," he whispered. He didn't care if Tony said it back or not. He wanted him to, but he wouldn't push for something Tony couldn't give. He just wanted him to know.

Tony squeezed Peter's arm. "Thanks," he said. It wasn't perfect, but at least he'd acknowledged him. Then he said, "We should get cleaned up." And he rolled off Peter.

Peter sighed into the couch, reluctant to let Tony go. He only stayed there a few seconds before he got up to follow Tony. He glanced through an open door along the way. "Wait, you mean we could've used the bed?" He hadn't realized there was a bedroom in the safe house.

"No," Tony said. "That bed is only for sleeping."

Peter frowned, but didn't question it. It was none of his business. He assumed it might have something to do with Pepper, but he wasn't going to pry.

He let his hands brush over Tony's skin while Tony was adjusting the taps in the shower. He just wanted to be touching him. Getting every bit of contact in before he had to go back and never touch him again.

Once they were under the spray, he kissed Tony, then insisted on washing him first. He started at Tony's neck and shoulders, then down his arms and chest. He studied every inch of the man's naked body. Committed every bit to memory. This was the only opportunity he would ever get.

He took his time. Smoothing the loofah over Tony's body. He heard Tony mutter an 'oh god' when Peter knelt to scrub Tony's feet. Peter grinned to himself. He knew what Tony was thinking. He was thinking it too.

Then he did it. He dropped the loofah and slid his hands up Tony's remarkably toned legs. One hand curled around his cock, first washing it, then rinsing it from the shower spray, then just stroking until it was hard.

"Fuck, Peter," Tony breathed and slapped a hand against the shower wall.

That was nothing. Peter had more in mind than a hand job. He smoothed his hand to the base of Tony's cock, then wrapped his lips around the head.

Tony's legs tensed. His fingers squelched against the tile. Had Peter reduced Tony Stark to speechlessness?

Peter swirled his tongue around the head of Tony's cock and heard him moan again. He took more and more of Tony into his mouth, teasing him to get more of those delicious sounds. He wanted to make this good for Tony too. He wanted Tony to have this memory to keep with him.

Tony tried to produce words, but all that materialized were spluttering sounds. Clearly Peter was doing something right.

Finally, Tony managed to eke out, "Peter - " and tugged lightly at Peter's hair.

He was pretty sure he knew what that meant. But he didn't move. He wanted to feel Tony spill down his throat. He wanted it. Wanted this memory of Tony too.

The splash of come on his tongue was new and strange. He didn't like the taste, but he liked knowing he was the one who made it happen. When he felt Tony relax, he drew back and brushed a hand across his mouth, peering up at Tony's face. The man seemed really relaxed. Maybe happy.

"Fuck, kid," Tony breathed.

That was probably the best reaction he'd ever get. Peter pushed to his feet and stretched up to press a kiss to Tony's mouth. "That was fun."

Eyes closed, breathing still heavy, Tony corrected, "That was hot." He brushed a hand over Peter's hair.

Peter smiled at him. The smile faded though when Peter realized their time together would end soon. He didn't want it to be over. He hugged Tony, clinging tightly to him and trying not to cry.

Extracting himself from Peter's arms, Tony retrieved the loofah from the floor of the shower and rinsed it out. He then started to wash Peter's skin. "Gotta get you all cleaned up too."

Peter's eyes filled with tears. This was it. He would have to tell Tony good-bye. Then watch him go. Knowing he would die when he got back. And there was nothing, at all, that Peter could do about it.

Tony pressed soft kisses to Peter's eyes. "It's okay, Peter," he whispered. "It's okay." He kept washing him. Then, gently, turned him around. "I have one more thing before we go." A soft kiss to Peter's neck as Tony let the loofah drop to the floor. He smoothed his hands down Peter's back.

Peter shivered. That touch was everything. The tears still fell. He didn't want this to be over. "What thing?" he mumbled into the tile.

"I want to fuck you again, if you'll let me."

The sound from Peter's throat was a sort of excited squeak. "Please? Dear god, Tony, please?" he nearly begged. Subconsciously, his feet stepped further apart. He wanted Tony to have all the room he needed.

Tony laughed behind him and pulled a small bottle of lube from the little shelf in the corner. A couple seconds of prep work, then Tony was easing his cock into Peter's ass.

Peter dropped his head back against Tony's shoulder. He reached a hand to rest at Tony's hip. "Fuck," he breathed. He felt Tony hesitate. "No, don't stop. Hell, go faster. Harder," he pleaded. "Make me feel it. I want to remember." More tears fell, but Tony didn't seem to notice that part.

It didn't matter. Tony did what Peter had asked. He moved faster, slamming his hips hard against Peter's ass. Pressing him hard against the tile. "God, Peter, your ass is so tight. It's perfect."

Peter loved all of it. He angled himself so Tony could fuck him better. Faster. Harder. "Yes," he panted. He didn't want this part to ever be over. He wanted to beg Tony to fuck him until the world ended – even though he knew it wasn't possible.

Tony grunted, gripping Peter's hips, and spilled himself deep in Peter's ass. Peter cried out at nearly the same time, his orgasm mixing with all of the other emotions he couldn't quite control.

He loved the feeling of Tony coming inside him. And he kind of liked the idea of taking that part of Tony with him to the future – even though it also seemed kind of gross.

"I hate to do this, Peter, but I think we've got to go," Tony said reluctantly.

"Can – can you wash me first? Please?" Peter asked, still trying to mask his tears.

Tony gathered the loofah again. "Of course." He scrubbed Peter's back and legs. Then turned him around to get his chest and arms. He rinsed the sponge and returned it to it's hook. Gentle hands brushed Peter's face, wiping away tears before Tony leaned down to kiss him. "Shh. It's okay."

"But it's not," Peter half-sobbed. "Fuck. I wish I could tell you." But Tony kissed him again, long and sweet. And told him it didn't matter – they had this and it would be enough. Peter didn't think so, but he also knew Tony had to finish his mission. It would be selfish to keep him here.

It took them a little while to get out of the shower and dressed, but they managed it without more sex. Tony kissed him again. Peter asked if he could stay in the safe house for a little while before he went back. Tony told him that was fine.

At the door, Peter made sure to get one more kiss from Tony before he left. As Tony was pulling the door closed he said, "I love you too, kid." Then he was gone.

The door clicked closed and Peter immediately lost his composure. His knees buckled and the tears came in hot waves. He knew he would never see Anthony Edward Stark again. He hated that it affected him this much.

He cried until his eyes were dry and his throat was raw. When the sobs stopped, he took several slow, deep breaths as best he could, then pushed himself from the floor. He blew his nose, then went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. It didn't help much, but he felt a little better.

Back in the living area, he asked, "JARVIS, am I able to record a message for Tony? And only Tony?"

"Of course, Mr. Parker," came the semi-electronic voice.

"Okay, begin recording." He waited for JARVIS to confirm, then he began, "Tony, it's Peter. Don't watch this until after the Time Heist. Trust me – it's better that way.

"I have to tell you something. It's important. And I couldn't tell you while we were together..."

He laid out the whole thing. How Tony was going to steal the stones from Thanos and use them to save the world, but that it would, ultimately, kill him. That it would devastate Peter because he won't get to tell Tony good-bye. And that was why he came back to 2012 – to see Tony one last time and get that measure of closure.

"I love you, Tony. And thank you." He knew Tony would understand that last part.

He instructed JARVIS to stop recording. "Can you make sure he doesn't watch it until I said?"

"I cannot prevent him from seeing it, but I can strongly urge him to abide your wishes, Mr. Parker."

"Thanks, JARVIS," he said with a sad smile. He knew JARVIS was right. Most people couldn't make Tony do anything he didn't want to do. Or stop him from doing something he did want to do.

Heartbroken and sad, but more complete than when he'd arrived, Peter left the safe house and found his way back to 2023.

"What the hell?" Dr. Banner – or Hulk – or whatever – cried. "Peter? How did -"

"Hi guys!" Peter said with mock cheer. It even almost sounded real through the helmet of his suit.

Sam peered at him. "Did you and Steve change places?"

"Oh! You're expecting Captain Rogers." Peter could kind of play the idiot a little. "I – haven't seen him."

"Sam!" Bucky called.

Peter followed where Bucky was looking. Maybe with a little extra hope hanging on. But all he saw was an old man on a bench. It wasn't until the old man handed a shield to Sam that Peter realized the old man was Captain America. _Holy shit!_

He felt Dr. Banner's hand rest on his shoulder. A subtle cue they should take their leave. Silently, he agreed and followed the big green guy.

  


* * *

  


The Tower felt much quieter and more solemn now. Peter stood in the doorway to Tony's old room just looking. But he didn't go in. Not this time.

"I miss him too. The ornery bastard," Bucky said as he stepped up beside Peter.

"I don't think I'll ever not miss him," Peter admitted.

"Don't think you have to stop. Just don't let it control you."'

"Yeah."

It was quiet for a bit. Then Bucky asked, "Did you do what you needed to do?"

Lips pressed tightly together, Peter nodded. When he spoke, his voice was raw, "Yeah. I did, Bucky. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime," he replied and squeezed Peter's shoulder. Then he slipped away as quietly as he'd approached.

Peter webbed the door so he could pull it closed without stepping into Tony's room. He was going to miss the hell out of him.

"Good-bye, Tony," he whispered as he pulled the door all the way until it latched.

  


* * *

  


**Epilogue:**

Peter wiped a hand under his eyes as he stopped the recording. He hadn't really needed the video. He had the memory. He hadn't visited it in a long while, but it usually came back nice and clear when he did.

He'd promised Tony he wouldn't watch the video until he was twenty-five. And he hadn't. He'd actually forgotten about the video itself until he'd received an email. The email had come from Tony's private account.

That had set off a whole separate wave of emotions – an email from Tony directly? Six years after he'd died? Peter was lucky he was functional.

His girlfriend, MJ, had been concerned when she'd come in and found Peter sobbing over his laptop. He'd needed a good twenty minutes to sort himself out enough to explain what was going on.

Then he'd had to explain to her why he needed to watch the video alone. She'd believed it was personal, but not that he couldn't share it. How could he explain a time travel sex tape of himself and his deceased mentor?

He'd told her that, at the very least, he needed to watch it alone first. He was pretty sure it was too emotional and embarrassing to share. He'd explained that it was from a time before he and MJ had started dating. She had still seemed a little reluctant, but was okay with it.

"Hey," MJ said and sat beside him, hand rubbing across his shoulders. "You wanna talk about it?"

Peter took a deep breath. "The video is me and Tony. From the last time I ever saw him alive."

"Huh?"

Yeah. He knew that didn't make any sense. So, he explained the battle and the subsequent time travel. But not the sex.

MJ listened to all of it. Just listened to him.

Peter lifted his head and looked at her. "The weird part is, I think he knew. I think he knew that when he got back from the time heist, he would die in the battle."

"How do you know?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't really. But when I asked him if Pepper was going to be okay with what we were doing, he said it was fine. Meaning he must have already known somehow. Plus, he told me something he would never have told me if he didn't know."

MJ stared at him a minute. "Wh – why would Pepper care that you talked to Tony?"

Whoops. "Um. Well, there may have been more than talking. And I'll completely understand if you want to dump me after all of this. I'm a fucking mess." He dropped his face into his hands.

"Peter, I'm not going to dump you. I am going to ask if you're okay though. Because I don't think that was a healthy way to grieve. And I don't think reliving it through video is a good idea either."

"I hadn't even remembered the video until it showed up. I'm so sorry, MJ."

"Peter, it's fine. But you should talk to somebody. Really deal with all of this."

He nodded. MJ put her arms around him, comforting as always.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Love you too, Peter."


End file.
